A Winter's Flame
by Xemik665
Summary: And without realizing it, the tragedies, like red threads of fate, slowly intertwined the destinies of those who bore them.
1. Eternal Darkness

All fell silent in the forest, all but the huntress and her prey.

Sylph sunk her fingers deeper into the wooden bow's handle, her fingers fitting perfectly into the handle's mould. She leapt backwards to create distance, the long threads of faded brown hair sweeping across her vision.

It was as if she was born to do this. The bow felt like a part of her, every curving arc and every splinter of wood that sometimes needled her slim fingers. She had been blessed with precision, a gift bestowed upon her from the skies.

Wind slipped through the gaps between her fingers as she threw them up to the bow's string. Cradled in them, a thin spear of brown wood well sharpened at the tip.

She pressed the bottom of the arrow into the string with graceful speed, anticipating the barely audible click sound that came a second later, before guiding her fingers to the string itself. It penciled a small line into the tip of her thumb, resting itself in it.

She drew the string, as she had done countless times in the past. There was no sting of a string carving deeper into her finger. Her skin had already hardened from countless cuts, forming a small fold where the string could lie.

No doubts and uncertainties arose as she released the arrow into the air from between two fingers, the wind trailing behind the arrow brushing past her cheek. It ripped through the currents of the air, creating a small tunnel of breeze that circled around it as it flew.

Sharp, brown eyes directed her fingers, her bow. They weren't cold with ice or blazing with passionate fire. They were simply filled with the strong-willed desire for a dream. They were eyes that would not flatter any other, eyes that were striking only on their own.

They shouldered the burden of placing the food on the table. They were the salvation of a starving family, among thousands of others.

* * *

Her village was the very law that decided the fates of its people… That was, a life of sweat and blood. You see, the birth of that very village was a mistake.

Needless to say, it was the herbs that drew people there.

It was unbelievable. Right there, were thousands of herbs, herbs that were priced so high that a small amount could forever correct the poor, pitiful fate of a person and his family, to a fate of wealth and riches.

A group of adventurers had gathered into the very spot that would become the center of the village. None were able to resist the whispering temptations of money. Weak, herbivorous monsters were attracted there. The large space guaranteed a quick exit from any predator that foolishly came charging into the space for some food. They were easy to chase off.

First, tents and campsites were set up. An invisible border marked with torches and dancing golden flames warded off thousands of weak creatures.

The real border was built shortly after. It was no short of a perfect circle that encompassed all of their future riches, shaped brick by brick, each one soon becoming lost among the red sea.

Then, harvesting began. Sufficient supplies had been brought into the place; making it a temporary living spot was no difficult task. It took a year, at the very least, before they could harvest the herbs.

But problems had already begun to surface. The weak monsters had settled just outside the border, and with little place to move to, they were all packed into a tight circle that closely shadowed the border. Essentially, a large ring of bait.

It was no surprise that, not long later, the place was surrounded by creatures, gargantuan beasts that would soon become the bane of the village's destiny. A few tried to escape. Humans were not their natural prey, but the territorial beasts attacked anybody and anything that invaded their newfound homes, whether or not malicious intent was present.

It was impossible to escape with a group. Maybe alone, it was, but most of the remaining adventurers had already brought family. They were left stranded in the red ring, and it stayed on to serve the very purpose of prison.

The border was expanded, slowly and slightly over the years. Their home was getting larger, just as it was becoming a larger prison. There was no money, only rice and grain. The skills of the hunt were lost among the waves of generations. There was no meat.

Every last herb's values plunged. They couldn't be brought outside for trade, so what value could the greenest greens possibly hold? Grain became the common currency among the people. Every household had powerful medicinal herbs and top-grade culinary herbs, something that people began eventually begun to view lowly after some time. Without any meat, they could not serve as good ingredients in meals, because they were all the people had. Only plants for every meal, and grain for the slightly wealthier.

The river that cut across the border became the divider for those who influenced grain trade: the wealthy. Of course, they were far from wealthy. It was just a way to address those who had some slight control over the main currency of the village. They had slightly bigger houses, but housing was never a main issue; they were located in a forest, with plenty of sufficient materials inside the border.

There was no real separation between the two. The only real difference was that the "wealthy" usually didn't work in the harvesting fields. Of course, not all of the villagers on the other side of the river worked in the fields either. A small wooden bridge linked the two sides, ensuring that the river did not become the much unneeded class divider.

The village had no real leader, but people with hearts that commanded courage and leadership rose to the unofficial position. At times, small groups of volunteers were also sent outside the border to locate a safe path where the people could escape through. None of those groups ever came back, and over the years, fewer volunteers appeared.

The village was doomed to a destiny of imprisonment, and only the persistent would pave out a separate path for themselves.

Sylph was not one of these people. The only things that mattered in her life were her eyes and her family. Her mother, to be exact.

Her mother was probably best described as someone who would never let go of a tragedy, carrying it, along with the burden of sorrow, everywhere, even into the deepest of nightmares. It had been fifteen years since her father's departure from the world. She didn't have the exact details; her mother would only say that he had moved on to a better place.

She never really knew her father. She had only been one when she left, after all. Her mother had provided for the family ever since then, working in the fields in the early years of her life.

Sylph grew weary of it all, trying to draw her mother out of the daze that she was in. It was probably because of this that she grew up as an independent person; who else could she rely on but herself?

By miracle or not, Sylph became the first person in the entire village to hunt for her food. That was when she was nine. Nobody else but herself knew who had taught her the long-forgotten art. Her hunt was still limited to the minute prey of the large creatures beyond the border, those that somehow managed to avoid the piercing teeth of those very creatures and found their way into the settlement, into the forests inside.

And to further complicate matters, she could not sell the meat for much. Nobody in the village could afford a high price. She had to get enough grain to feed herself and her mother, and whatever meager amount of the leftover meat she had went to their meals.

Her mother stopped working in the fields when she had started to grow weak. She began to collect the wild herbs from the edges of the border instead, which she sold to farmers. It was not the best of businesses.

So here she was. Hunting to put the food on their table once again. The thought of hunting wasn't truly exciting, but when she picked up her bow and examined the unsymmetrical, carelessly crafted weapon, she could not help but throw a small smile back.

How natural it felt, to have it in her hands. She would cradle it for a moment, running her fingers along the rough wood. It was like having the world at your fingertips. It _was _her world.

Her spirits would soar, just as her arrows soared, dragons fighting their way through the sky in their majestic ascension to the heavens above, riding on wings of wind spread out so wide out they seemed to occupy the entire vastness of the sky.

To be able to simply shoot down straw targets with the slip of a finger every single day, it was the best thing that could ever have happened to Sylph.

She had no real friends; she had no need for them, her bow took that position. You were weak if you had to constantly be relying on others for help.

She didn't have to rely on anybody; she had no need to, for her eyes were all she had ever really needed.

It was not to say that she detested forming bonds or finding new friends. No, nothing like that. Perhaps she simply disliked the company of people. Perhaps she just simply didn't see the need to. Perhaps…

It mattered not. It was no exaggeration for her to say that when she tilted her bow to the heavens, they became her entire world. Every last word was true, right to the tip of her tongue.

Her eyes allowed that to happen. Everything she had today, needless to say, was because of them. And on that very day, when she had first drawn the string of a bow…

That was when her eyes had truly opened.

* * *

She had ventured ever so slightly beyond the border, in high hopes of finding a slightly larger creature to bring back home with her, hopefully without incurring the wrath of the large beasts.

The arrow found its way to it, right on the invisible bull's-eye. It buried itself into the creature's fur, and the creature crumpled down lifelessly. It was fairly simple.

She let her tense shoulders fall back down, letting out a deep breath of relief. She stepped forward to collect her rewards.

Gigantic jaws tore through the shadows of the trees and snapped up the creature. Ominous crimson orbs shone from beyond the darkness. Shadows spread along the beast's back, forming sharp, spotted patterns on its leathery hide. It opened its mouth as if to smile devilishly, revealing what was inside. Bits of skin and meat of a deep crimson red were speared onto the jagged tips of its teeth. A smell that could only be described as bloodlust filled the air. Its scaly tongue flicked out, delivering a torrent of air and a hail of translucent yellow liquid.

A few drops crashed into her skin.

It burned.

It was acidic! Instinctively, her arms flailed out and shook off the acid. She jumped in surprise, and then clasped the burnt skin on her withdrawn arm tightly, as if it would somehow ease the stinging pain.

The monster crunched up the rest of her hunt quickly, flashes of white and bones revealing through the thin openings of its closed mouth.

And then the creature locked gazes with Sylph. Its eyes alone struck pangs of fear into her heart and they were vulnerably revealed through her scrunched up expression. She reached for her bow, but it wasn't there. From the corner of her eyes, she found it lying on the forest undergrowth, disfigured by a thin layer of mud and soil not too far away.

She simply ran, forcing all her energy into the desperate sprint for her bow. She could hear the creature's feet sinking slightly into the mud with each step, creating greenish-brown splatters on the ground behind her feet. Her heart pounded on the walls of her chest in harmony with her feet that pounded the ground beneath her. Shallow breaths were all she could afford, and her lungs screamed for more air with every passing second.

The bow was an arm's length away. She leaned forward as she ran, arms grabbing for the bow. She snatched it up, but not before tripping and landing face-flat in the mud, pressing into it a shape identical to hers. She had no time to admire the slender figure in the mud, and so she pressed her weight down on an elbow and anchored herself up from the back of her body.

She barely managed it and stumbled forward, before returning her normal pace. She could feel the pulsing sensation beneath her skin, and her face felt red. She reached out behind her belt for her quiver and whipped out an arrow, which she somehow managed to fit into the string amidst the annoying movement and her fear.

She quickly skidded to a halt, using the momentum to do a small spin to face the creature and sent an arrow whistling towards her foe. What surprised her was that her quick breaths and her irregular stance had not hindered her accuracy. It pierced the creature's leg and dragged it down.

It hit the ground and the impact pulsed throughout the ground. It was not a very large monster by the forest's standards, but it was heavy, by the looks of it.

She turned back and tore through the air as she began her run once more. The border was nearing. She could make out the seemingly endless wall of red already.

The footsteps returned. The steadying _thump_ sound behind her was making her nervous. She instantly filled up with regret every leaving the border. No blood would have had to be shed then.

The border was so close she could smell the faint aroma of a Syrus herb wafting about the air now, blending with the metallic smell of blood and sour sweat in the air.

It was foul.

She was almost at the entrance! The assuring fact that monsters beyond the border avoided fire and smoke (Which the entrance of the border so conveniently provided to chase them off) fetched back some comfort to her, for she knew she would outrun the monster by a long distance and arrive into the border soon enough.

And as she turned around to see if the creature was catching up, not a footstep left before the border, she was greeted with a large ball of pale-green acid. In no more than a blink, it flew right into her eyes.

Time only permitted a scream, a cry that tore through the forest and the abyss beyond it. She fell back, into the cradling arms of familiar grass. It was the last thing she felt, and the sting that was clawing viciously at her eyes became so numbing it was surreal. The pain overwhelmed her, engulfed her, and she drifted into an eternal darkness.

* * *

The light that filtered through the translucent window panels gushed into the dark room, a waterfall of faded colors giving the room a weak, dying glow.

At least, that was what it should have looked like. When Sylph awoke, she heard only the incessant chatter of a few voices around her. She recognized her mother's voice as one of them instantly, distinguishable from the rest with her mellow tone.

"She's waking up!" Somebody gasped.

The voices hushed down, and it suddenly became awkwardly silent.

"Can you hear me?" Her mother's gentle voice fell softly on her ears.

"Mmm… Yeah…" She groaned, feeling a tremendous strain on her muscles as she tried to get up.

A pair of hands pressed down on her chest, a sign for her to get back down.

"Sylphis…" Her mother's voice was scattered, full of worry and sorrow. "Can you… see?"

Sylph looked around her.

Darkness.

"What's going on?" She said, her voice steadily rising to a higher pitch.

"Sylph, please-" Her mother tried to calm her, but Sylph could easily tell from her voice that she herself wasn't very assured.

"My eyes… What's happening?" Her lips quivered as she spoke. Memories - ones she would rather have not remembered - came rushing back.

"You ventured out the border, didn't you? Poison from one of those creatures… it entered your bloodstream. We managed to stop it from spreading with the herbs… but… the damage was already…" She stopped, the lump in her throat preventing her from saying more.

Nobody wanted to be the bearer of the devil's bad news, after all.

"So… my eyes…" Sylph choked out, trembling as she spoke the next few words out loud.

**They're gone?**

The terror, the hate, the worry, the anger… they couldn't be described. She couldn't even tell which emotions were which. Everything was just a big mess inside.

She tore out of what seemed to be a blanket, ignoring the strain on her legs. She stumbled out of her bed, her hands fumbling about for something to grab, to provide some reality and shape to everything, to tell her that this wasn't just a nightmare that she would wake up in cold sweat from.

Why?

All in one moment, the one thing she treasured the most…

**Stolen. **

Why was this happening to her? Her talent… Stolen from her just as easily as she had found it? She could almost picture the Gods above, laughing with sickening pleasure at the way she was cringing right then.

Was it truly that funny? She had just had her entire universe to slip through her fingers so quickly it couldn't even register in her brain. But… why?

The words tasted foul and sour in her mouth as she unintentionally choked them out.

**Why?**

"Please, stop doing this-" Her mother tried to stop her, but her voice would no longer reach Sylph's ears.

Sylph found the door, bringing her fingers down the rough wooden surface until her hand reached the doorknob. She twisted it, with all the weight of her body falling upon her arm, and walked outside as it swung open, dragging her cold, tired feet with each step.

She heard voices calling out, but they already seemed distant and surreal to her. She just kept walking, a wave of disconsolate thoughts overcoming the urge to stick her hands out to prevent her from crashing into something.

She didn't even know where she was heading now. Anywhere was fine, really. She didn't feel like screaming… She was way too tired for it all.

Her shoulders crashed into an object once or twice, but she ignored the pain that rippled throughout her arm and just kept going.

She could hear water gushing from where she was now. She was at the river. She slowed down, and stopped for a moment.

She could picture the beautiful, crystalline water flowing, its weak currents battling over each other for dominance. She could picture the tall green blades of grass spreading endlessly about her, dancing along slowly with the wind's hush melody. And the morning sun that was now warming up the tips of her icy cold fingers.

Why didn't she see them before? Why was she only noticing all this now?

She took a few steps forward, to hear the rush of the water once more. She scuffed closer to it. Before she could take another step, a warm hand grabbed hers, from whichever direction it came from she could not tell.

"You don't want to do that." A gentle voice came from behind. It definitely felt male, although it was difficult to actually differentiate in tone.

"What do you…?" She barely finished her sentence as it dawned upon her with sickening realization that this person had been eyeing her since she arrived there.

"I doubt it's worth it. Whatever the tragedy that occurred." The voice said, firm, yet remaining gentle. It sounded almost like singing, yet…

How did he know?

A tiny wave of ice-cold water licked at her feet. She was _that _close to the river. Did he think she was about to jump in?

"I'm not…"

It was as if he wasn't even listening.

"Hmm?" He wondered out loud.

She shook her head in frustration, her eyebrows tightly knitted together above forcefully shut eyes. What in the world was he thinking?

"I'm sorry, then… I can't claim to understand your situation. But if you-"

"Then don't try to!" A stifled cry suddenly burst out from her. She found it hard to believe that the voice was hers.

"I'm sorry-" A rather helpless response emerged, but not before Sylph cut it off.

She felt so clueless right then, as she turned the opposite direction and left.

She was heading further… into the darkness.

She clutched whatever clothing she was wearing, balling her fists up tightly. She had been condemned to a fate of eternal darkness. She looked left, right. A giant valley of darkness swallowed her up.

Without realizing it, she had suddenly begun to shed tears. Like the precious, fragile pearls they were, they fell to the ground and shattered softly, the resonating sound flowing into her ears.

The green grass was turning black now.

She was crying now, choking back sobs with gritted teeth. Why was this happening? Exactly what did she do that warranted such punishment?

Was it coincidence, or fate?

Or was this simply heaven playing with the life of a worthless little girl?

It certainly seemed that way.

Where was the sky? The sky that had once been the giant blue canvas, sprinkled with clouds of white… Strokes of darkness painted over it, eating the sun and poisoning the clouds. Everything was slowly fading to black, full of the black venom that was eating into her life.

Where was her sky, her world?

It seemed like a brief moment ago, where she had last picked up her bow, how she smiled at it. The bow in all its mockery, smiled back.

And what of her betrayal… of the one who entrusted it to her? All the sincerity and sweat poured into the bow… it was now useless.

Never again would she be able to send arrows gliding into the air, skimming along the faint outline of an orange horizon.

Never again…

It seemed strange before, when she had heard tales of people doing this. But now it wasn't so strange at all. She began to laugh, sadistically and quietly in between her sobs.

How ironic, all of it…

When all emotion had departed from from her, she no longer knew how she should have felt. Standing there, breathing deeply. It was all too surreal, but this was real.

Too real.

For a moment, she didn't want to be reminded of this tragedy. She simply wanted to stand there and forget everything.

But it was impossible, for she knew that behind the sheet of darkness that lay before her was a captivating, azure sky with yet the deep maroon of the great oceans.

What lay behind were clouds of a pure, diamond-white that pillared the entire weight of that very sky as they shifted beneath it slowly, by the second.

What lay behind was grass carrying the priceless pride of emeralds as they swayed fearlessly under the divine, topaz-glow of the distant sun looming far above them.

A bitter melody lingered on in this suddenly fragile heart of hers.

Her eyes trailed all around. Still, everything was black.

On that very day, her world faded into the cruel, menacing darkness.

* * *

Her mother had brought her back home, wrapping her cold body up with a torn, but warm jacket.

She had been standing there like a lifeless doll, waiting for someone to find her when she had become lost in the darkness that now shrouded her life, her vision.

"Have a good rest, dear. For now, try to forget everything and rest. Worry about things tomorrow, okay?" Her mother said, wordlessly bidding her a good night with a light kiss on the forehead before quickly, yet gently, closing the room door.

It could almost have been her mother lying to herself. Her mother wasn't someone who forgot things either. No less so for a tragedy.

Like the silent sobs coming from beyond the door, she, too, let the tears run inside the silence of her head.

It wasn't easy to forget everything and sleep. When you woke up the next morning, you would remember everything. And everything _wouldn't _be okay.

But maybe it would have been good, just to get some peace. But sleep abandoned her that night. She drifted away, not into a deep sleep, but into the deep darkness that never seemed to leave. It was like a nightmare, except she could feel everything, hear everything, smell everything, taste everything, but… see _nothing._

It dragged on, for a painfully long time. And as pitiful as her weak protests against the black mist were, sleep never came.

But then a gentle, soothing voice interrupted her nightmare. And somehow, everything felt alright.

* * *

Sylph awoke with the same cluelessness as any other person when their day just began. But after fumbling about for the torn-up curtains so she could get some sunlight to fill up the dark room for a few minutes, reality struck her in the head once again.

She clambered out of bed, one hand automatically shooting up to prevent any crashing or banging against anything. It moved about in the air, until she found the door. She stepped outside, and the smell of breakfast greeted her nose.

It was the usual fare: vegetables and… vegetables.

She silently ate up. It still tasted unusually good among all the sourness upon her tongue. Maybe she was hungry after not having a meal for whoever knew how long she was asleep after the poison entered her blood.

Or maybe she was just exhausted from everything.

"You alright?" Her mother's voice interrupted her thoughts.

It was hard to answer the question. How hard had she wished that everything would be alright? But she knew that no matter how hard she wished the arms of the clock would not turn back for her.

"I don't know… I really don't." It was all she could say at the time.

"Take your time to get used to it… It can't be easy, but I'm sure you'll get used to it soon enough." She said, pausing uneasily. "I'm sorry, dear."

Sylph didn't even know if she should have said 'It's not your fault'. She didn't know how to respond, only nod weakly.

"Sorry." Her mother repeated, although this time it sounded like she was talking to herself.

Sylph finished up the last of her greens.

"I want to go somewhere for a bit… Do you mind?" She said, softly, with exhaustion.

"Not at all… Do you need me to bring you there?" Her mother asked, her concern and scattered thoughts choking up her seemingly average sentence.

"I'll manage… somehow."

Her feet remembered the path. She felt the wet grass beneath her feet as they crunched ever so softly, her exposed feet soaking up the surprisingly cold liquid.

She wanted to go to the river again. She needed a voice… a calming voice to tell her everything was alright.

Water could be heard again, gushing loudly, yet calmly.

Was he there?

She looked around. Of course, darkness was all she was rewarded with as she had expected, but it seemed to be a habit that stuck with her.

"Are you looking for me?" The voice startled her slightly from behind.

Before she could reply, a hand pressed something into her palm.

"Notebook." He answered, as if reading her mind. "My ears don't hear a thing. I hope you don't mind jotting your thoughts down here."

He was deaf?

Millions of thoughts poured into her head. So that was why he was so slow in responding the day before? And he was admitting it so nonchalantly, as if it mattered not to him.

A pen was conveniently clipped onto the back of it, as she just found out after driving her fingers about the rectangular object for a short while. She quickly penned a short line down.

_About yesterday… _

"Yes, what of it?"

_I didn't know you were… deaf. Forgive me for the fuss I made…_

"Ah, no worries about that. You weren't trying to drown yourself or anything, it seems." His voice was like music to her ears, soothing and calming, and strangely, like waves crashing gently onto a shore. Yet it could only do so much for her.

_Doesn't it bother you at all? Being deaf?_

Without any consideration, she simply wrote it down on an impulse, a question that had just as suddenly entered her mind as she had written it.

"It does. Every single day, every passing moment, my heart still floods up with the regret, pain and sadness." There was a short pause. "I suppose I don't like to drag people into my own situations. I'm the deaf one, not any other being. So let them pass by me without noticing anything, and I can be alone like I wish to as well."

_I see…_

"Your writing is terrible!" He suddenly chuckled, completely varying his tone, as if to avoid any further discussion of the topic. His laughter was noticeably false, yet it brought out the light-heartedness it was supposed to. "Can't you stick to the grids? Your words are all over the place."

_I can't…_

"Why not?"

_I'm… blind._

She could pick out the soft gasp.

"I'm sorry as well." He sighed. "I never knew."

_Forget about it._

"Isn't it funny?" The warmth that she had found in his voice suddenly returned again. "Two people who have lost something precious to them, gathered here. We must look like idiots."

Sylph could not hold help but let out a weak, sarcastic laugh.

_Indeed… I wonder if this is heaven's game with me._

"Who knows, indeed?"

_Actually, I never believed in all of this. I'm not someone who would toss all my problems and worries to some invisible entity and wait around, hoping that my problems would be solved without having to do anything. I'd rather take things into my own hands, instead of leaving it with something that might not even be there._

"I wouldn't be too quick to judge. You never know if there really is someone like that up there in the skies. I don't know either, and I wouldn't bet my life that there was someone, but I wouldn't mind following a little superstition or two just for the extra luck." He added, "Just for fun."

_How old are you?_

She suddenly penned down without thinking. That was a question that had been bothering her for some time now. She wondered if she shouldn't have written it.

"Seventeen." He laughed, and this time innocently, sweeping away any doubts that lingered on in her heart. "Why, what's with that look on your face?"

_Nothing… I thought you were older. _Much _older._

"I'm guessing you're about seventeen as well, then?"

_Sixteen, to be exact._

"Oh, you're oddly tall for your age."

_I get that a lot._

It felt strange. Somehow, she didn't feel that bad any longer. Maybe it was having the company of someone who could understand her pains… But then again, he probably couldn't have suffered too badly, compared to her situation…

"Is something the matter?" A concerned voice pulled her back into reality once again.

_Actually, I just lost my eyes. Yesterday._

"Forgive me once again. I've been slightly too careless with my words." He swiftly apologized.

_No… I was just wondering about your situation. My eyes… they meant more than just sight to me._

"Yes, and?"

_They were my world… Never mind, you wouldn't understand it._

There was a short pause, and she heard him take a deep breath, as if to prepare for a long speech.

"You're not being very fair."

Sylph's eyes widened with surprise. What was he trying to say?

"So what? I don't know anything about you, but please, don't try and tell me that your eyes are more important than my ears. I've lost something too, and you'd truly be blind if you were saying that I wouldn't be able to understand anything."

What? All the words on the tip of her tongue shattered. She had just said something terribly selfish, it seemed…

And the terrible silence dragged on. Only the gentle flowing of water, the rustling of a few golden leaves surfing a gentle autumn breeze…

She could picture him, silently watching the water stream by, wishing he could listen to the calming sound he missed so much. She couldn't write something now… she didn't even know which direction he was facing, or how she would tell him that she was trying to write something…

"Your eyes… They must really have been precious, huh?" Once again, the voice had rescued her from the darkness and the chilling silence that had been growing on her.

_I've always dreamt of being a bowman. Ever since I was a child, when I first discovered my talent, it's become the world to me. Now I can't even aim my bow in the right direction._

She dragged each line on the notebook slowly, each word overflowing with bitterness.

"And when your life's ambition, your dream, the only thing that kept you going in life was stolen, how did it feel? Like your heart was ripped out?" A tinge of that very bitterness verged on the tip of his voice, as if he truly knew...

_There are probably no words to describe the terror. Thousands of emotions… and it felt like I was going to explode because it all seemed like a terrible nightmare, except that you can tell when you're dreaming or not, and it was no dream._

"I see…" Sylph heard a hand run through some hair.

_This reminds me… I don't even know your name, or what you look like._

"Clove. Nice to meet you," He stopped, eagerly waiting for her to finish his sentence.

_Sylphis. _

Her hand stopped as she finished the arc of the last letter_. _She quickly corrected herself.

_Actually… Sylph._

"Alright then, Sylph. Did you know that the word 'Sylph' refers to an invisible, mythological being of the air?" He teased.

_And did you know that a 'Clove' is one of the spices found in the field?_

"No," He laughed. "I didn't know that at all. I don't work out in the fields too often."

_And I'm no expert on fairies either._

"Fair enough." He chuckled again.

She could picture a warm smile on his face, and it gave her a little comfort with the strange knowledge. She smiled back, a weak, but truly joyful smile.

Maybe things _were_ going to change for the better.

* * *

**Note:** Ah, how long has it been since I last posted? Okay, after writing one whole chapterfic for my personal enjoyment, I'm back, it seems, with another one. I hope this is worthy of some attention now. The planning has taken a terribly long time, and it might not be one hundred percent complete yet, but I hope this chapter will somehow bring justice to the plot. Also, I know that for some, this is the period of exams. Important ones. Yet it would truly help if you just headed over to the review button. Thanks in advance. Well, it's up to you, actually. (NONO, REVIEW)


	2. Waltz of the Tragic

Chapter Two: Waltz of the Tragic

* * *

Sylph opened her eyes to a black world.

She had dreams… dreams where she was no longer hiding behind a fog of darkness, where nothing hid from her. Sometimes, when she dreamt, she could see everything.

She shut her eyes again, although they didn't sweep her back into a dream. Neither did they make any difference. Everything stayed black, anyway.

Tears drummed on her window. At least the sky was probably enshrouded in a black mist too.

She didn't want to climb out of the thin covers. So she lay down for a while, silently trying to reach out for the vivid images that must have lay somewhere in the back of her mind. Yet, they didn't manifest themselves.

_Forget it. It's pointless._

Lifting the cover weakly, she tossed them lightly to the other side of the bed. Then, she rolled out of bed and landed on both foot softly, floorboard groaning in protest.

Sylph had lived in this very room ever since she was born, so it was no hassle to find her way to the door. It was just that no matter what she tried, she felt an urge to stick her arm out everywhere she went. It was an utter hindrance.

She opened the door, hurdles awaiting her beyond. She skimmed her fingers along the wall, roughly gauging where the walls would suddenly drop off into a steep slope along with the stairs and then grabbed the railing that slid down them, obviously close enough.

Her fingers guided her out, each small step still shrinking back in fear. She would probably end up tumbling down these very stairs sooner or later. It was inevitable.

After many seconds had slipped past her grasp, she finally felt her feet hitting solid ground.

And then she had to navigate through the small room she was in. It had always been littered with tables, chairs and chips of wood, due to the walls peeling off during the summer which had just ended not too long ago.

In fact, she had found some wood already. She cringed and her feet shot up in pain. She fumbled about helplessly, trying hard- and in futility- to ignore the roots of pain creeping up her legs quickly.

She tore the wood out without hesitation, unable to bear any more of the piercing sensation. It felt like a knife down there. Caressing her foot with one hand, she barely managed to balance, precariously. Before she could even topple, a table caught her by her side, a little too close for comfort.

The stinging in her foot was getting worse now. Drops of sanguine were _probably_ pooling up on the floor right now. She would never really find out though, would she?

Through her painful breaths, she somehow managed to calm herself down. The cut couldn't have been too big. Maybe there wasn't any blood at all. Liquid metal on her fingertips betrayed her thoughts. But the bleeding was far from serious either, with only a few drops of blood on those fingers. It was probably just another tiny cut.

Breakfast wasn't essential, she decided. But as much as she wanted to leave the house, a torrent of a thousand crystals were probably hailing down on the ground outside. The river banks were probably flooded as well, and it seemed like a terrible time to sit by it.

But it was always _probably_ for her. She would never really know what was happening around her, only guess.

"Sylph?" A drowsy voice crawled slowly along the walls.

"Yes, mother?" Who else could it have been?

There was a slight pause. Maybe she needed time to register that fact that Sylph had gotten up so early in the morning. She was always slow, though, so it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Do you need breakfast now?" Came the reply, sooner than later.

How early it was, she wouldn't know either.

Probably sunrise.

_Probably._

"No, I don't think I do." It was strange, really. When had she ever _not _been hungry?

Probably today, it seemed.

"You sure?" Her mother stopped again, as if preoccupied all of a sudden. "Your feet… What happened?"

"Wood from the walls…" She trailed off. She did not exactly feel like giving a long, tiring explanation. She was still so exhausted. It was only a day ago that her-

"I'll go fetch you some cloth. Hold on a minute." The concern was not so evident in her voice, at least, not compared to the depression that accompanied. It grew over hers, built upon it, like the cold waves of winter ready to wash out a weak flame that was barely burning on.

They were a mother and a daughter, both too caught up in their own worlds to come face to face.

It had always felt like that, since… forever. At first, she had wondered if she was merely another burden over her mother. She knew better now, but she sometimes struggled with the idea as well.

And finally, it all came to this.

Ragged cloth pressed against her foot. She nearly jumped onto the table behind her, but quickly realized it was just her mother.

"Thanks." Sylph whispered.

"Welcome." Her mother answered blandly, seemingly distracted by the simple task.

She tried to smile.

"There. All done. I tied the cloth around your foot, so it might be a little inconvenient. Where were you trying to go?" She finished up tying the cloth, releasing her hands from her feet… and from Sylph.

"Is it raining outside?" She tried to pick her tone up, but it just fell flat.

"Heavily." Her mother replied.

"Oh." So it really was raining. "Never mind."

She didn't feel like having breakfast, so it was a trip wasted down. And she had gotten her foot cut as well…

A mug hit the table behind her and there was a short sigh.

"I'm heading back to my room now. Get some rest, will you?"

"Alright."

Unsteady footsteps rang throughout the room, followed by the soft rattle of a door closing in place. She usually went straight in after her breakfast, maybe to mourn again. Nobody really knew what she did inside and Sylph did not intend to find out either.

But since she could not go outside… Maybe she could go to _that_ room for a short while today. If her mother wasn't around, she could stay inside for a little while longer.

She knew exactly where it was, that small little room forgotten by everyone.

It was still a little difficult though, but she would find it. She was at the meal table now, so a few steps back would take her to the entrance of her mother's room. A little to the left was where it lay, behind an extremely short flight of stairs.

It was still easy to navigate inside the darkness that she was in because of the cramped space. It was _always _dark inside to being with, but either way, that would no longer bother her to some extent.

When she opened the door, dust and familiar smells poured out. She swept her hands in front of her face, fanning the dust away.

She could not see, but images of the room that lingered on in her memory illuminated her path inside.

Sylph shut the door behind her.

It was a storeroom, one that was probably used for a few generations before her. All sorts of wonders from many years before used to fill the room, things that she had played with as a child, curious and splendid objects. And sometimes even ordinary things that somehow amused her childish mind.

Over the years, it lost its wonder, but it was always nice to come in for a few minutes to absorb those far-off memories, where troubles seemed to be warded off by a foolish, ignorant smile and childish laughter which echoed true happiness… that was somehow lost over the years. Now only melancholy echoed in the tiny chamber-like room.

Those things weren't what she was looking for today.

It was something much more special. It was small, compact and brown, the exact fallen brown of her hair.

Fingers browsed small racks, slowly plunging from the highest rack down.

Over the years, her mother had piled this place up with her father. His clothes, his things. The scent of her father was bound to the room, as if his soul was forever chained inside this place.

It was cruel, to hold him back in this world. _Especially _when her mother claimed that she did not like to be reminded of his death.

But Sylph could not complain. It was like her father was there with her and what she had needed the most was someone to be by her side. She had never known him, and maybe it was better that way. She wouldn't have to know what kind of person he was, or what he did. All she needed was to know she had _somebody_ there with her, who could listen to her troubles and somehow be there for her; something her mother would never have been able to do for her.

She had found it.

She pulled a small wooden box out, right from the very same place she had left it. It had been too long since she had cradled it in her hands, and the dust on it only reinforced that idea.

It felt precious, fragile and at the same time, beautiful. She could not see it, but it didn't matter.

She gently lifted the lid of the music box.

It belonged to the man she never knew. It was probably the possession of someone who belonged to her family from many years back. Maybe her father inherited it.

'…_It was his prized possession…'_

That was what mother had told her when she first laid her eyes upon it.

Now it was hers.

Below the lid, two small- and carelessly crafted- wooden figures slowly began to spin, with hands clasped in each others', and the whole room melted away as a melody began to play.

Soft notes rang and they wrapped themselves around her, becoming the very arms that she had needed to embrace her. The slow, steady rhythm spilled out of the small box and all around.

It was a bittersweet melody that brought back memories she never had, a sad little joy that she had never knew existed until she had found it.

Words of assurance rose from the ashes of her mind, words beyond a tragedy like a voice from the heavens, singing her to safety.

And the girl silently thanked the lost soul.

* * *

Sylph sat with her knees to her chest, watching the tiny couple dance on. The song was designed never to end, the small dancers twirling in a never-ending loop, destined to do so over and over again. It seemed to parallel the situation of the man who was bound eternally to the room by the sorrow of a loved one. Yet even if it did not, to be created to dance that dance for eternity… it was still sad. The couple was forever destined to dance that sad little dance.

To Sylph however, it brought- at the very least- shreds of comfort.

And yet, the tattered rags that were desire slowly began to shift in Sylph's heart. It seemed sourly strange.

But that was fine… It was enough for now.

She brought the tiny lid down on the couple, their dance finally coming to an end beneath the falling shadow. Hopefully that would release them from this misery she had put them through, for her own comfort. In ways like this, she was not very different from her mother.

She got up to her feet slowly, placing the music box back into the shelves. It fit into the small opening among the numerous treasures in the shelves and the sound of it dragging against the wooden rack resounded throughout the room, as if to scream emptiness. And she left, leaving only stripes of a golden sun engraved on the empty floors.

Yes, the sun had finally unveiled itself behind the thin curtain of clouds. The skies and their tears had finally run dry. It seemed like a final act of sympathy to Sylph; as if to say that she was now on her own.

"Where are you going?"

Her mother had almost startled her.

"I'm leaving for a short while, if that's alright with you."

"I… I guess so. Don't stay out too late, okay?" She was always so _slow_ in her reaction, muddle-headed as if she was always lost in a wave of deep thoughts. And she probably _was_.

"Yes, mother." She said, reaching for the door.

"…Sylph?"

"Yes, mother?" She repeated, the volume of her voice dropping with a little tiredness.

"I… I have a name, you know." She tried to laugh, a weak, nervous little laugh.

It was actually encouraging to see her try to make the connection she had longed so _desperately_ for many years now, but…

"You know," She shook her head ever so slightly, pressing her eyebrows together. "You never really did tell me your name…"

"Mother." And she closed the door softly.

* * *

The rivers battered into the shores, once again welcoming Sylph to the green grass.

"Clove?" She called out.

And only after she had called out did it occur to her that he wouldn't be able to hear her. It was still a habit. After all, it was only the second day they had known each other.

She stumbled around, wondering if she had come to the right place. The grass was still wet as usual, even more so from the rain. The soles of her feet dug into the tall grass as she shuffled about. They seemed to sink deep into the floor, the wet soil concaving beneath each painful step.

"Well hello, Sylph."

Yes, he was definitely there.

"You're only a few steps away from the river. I think you should step back a little."

She was at the same spot as the day before, apparently.

She moved back a little trying in futility to trace the voice to its owner.

"A little left, then go back a few more steps and you're there." He laughed, further propelling the strange thought that he could somehow read her mind. Or was she just easy to read?

She sat down. A notebook was pressed into her palm, and she gladly received it. The pen was clipped on the back as usual. She did not wait any longer and immediately drew the pen out.

_Were you here the whole time?_

It was hard to think so, seeing as it was still raining heavily not a few minutes ago.

"Yes. I come here every day for a short while, when I'm done with the work at the fields. I… do not like to be around such crowds elsewhere."

_In the rain? _

"Yes… I would hate to be caught up in the afternoon crowd… In all the noise and people. I would much rather be here."

She brought a hand to her left, the ground where Clove sat.

_You're drenched._

He had inched slightly further away from her.

"Sorry! I- I'm still not used to being around someone." He joked. It sounded real enough, though.

_Sorry. I had forgotten we'd only just met._

"Yes, thank you for understanding." He smoothly switched the topic. "Well, Sylph… It seems like there is a lot on your mind today. Is your… loss still bothering you?"

_I can't say it isn't, but… That's not really what's on my mind today._

"Then, if I may, what is?"

_I never knew my father… and my mother has never gotten over his death. I don't know how to deal with her any longer. It's like she can't think of anything else and it's as if I do not exist to her._

"Sorry to hear about your father. But in all fairness, you sound a little like you're… a _child _who can't see things from others' point of views. Hopefully you took no offense in that carelessly phrased statement, but… do you not wonder about how your mother has felt? Surely you would gain some enlightenment on the topic if you did."

_I've tried. It's not as if I'm that little child any longer. I understand perfectly well that I am still somewhere in that fragile heart of hers, but I feel I may already be lost in it. But it's gotten too difficult for me to cling on to that miserable belief any longer. It's not easy to do that._

"I'm… sure… she cares." His voice drifted off… far off.

Sylph placed the pen down on the grass, hearing a soft crunch. She didn't know what to write any longer. It was strange to be thinking about it this way as they had only just met, but Clove had been like a pillar for her to lean on and she didn't know exactly how she could feel when he began to lose her in this air of enigma that swirled around him, as if it were a barrier to everyone else.

"Sylph… I know that's not what you wanted to hear. Sorry, but I do not… No, I'm not an angel sent from heaven to ease your pain, if that is what you had thought. Sorry, but I don't think I can just give you what you want to hear. I am, after all, as human as you are."

_I_

She paused and begun another sentence.

_Just_

She paused again, shifting her pen slightly lower.

_Sorry._

She could hardly find the words to pen down any longer. He _was_ human. And not an angel sent from heaven, to lift her spirits and sweep her troubles away. How silly that thought seemed to her now that it had been pointed out.

"Sylph… She cares." He reaffirmed.

_But… Why do you think she cares, Clove? You don't know her._

"Because she's your _mother_. It is a common, simplistic, wishful and generally unproven concept, but I still believe it and I believe that you just have not been realizing this. You should look deeper; try to put yourself in her shoes. Maybe then you will see it. You should… treasure her."

_I'll try… Sorry for pushing my troubles to you. And I barely know you too, so I don't know why I'm saying all this to you. I just thought…_

She didn't know how to end that sentence and could only ink three small dots onto the paper to finish.

"I don't mind. But hey, I can only do so much for you." He laughed, and Sylph was glad; he had finally returned.

His laughter brought strange comfort to her, however fake it always sounded.

_And… thank you. Very much, for all of this. Yesterday and today. I don't think I'd have survived these two days if I hadn't met you._

"You flatter me." Sylph pictured a smile, and she would have liked to think he wore it. "It's not a problem. I'm not sacrificing anything precious for you either, if you haven't realized that yet."

_It doesn't matter, because I feel much better. I don't know how else I'd have dealt with- _She paused, reaching up to her eyes- _this. And yet… how did_ you?

Indeed, how had he managed to overcome it? Surely, from the way he sounded the previous day, they were as dear to him as her eyes were to her.

"I learnt. I learnt from the lessons life had to offer me. I learnt from my loss. It isn't as if I completely forgot about these ears. I just realized the futility in my mourning, and I suppose I saw the value in things I had never noticed before. I realized that every loss births gain and this remains true for the opposite as well." He paused to take a short breath, or maybe sigh. "But this does not mean to say that I do not regret what I have done, or that I am better off without these ears, Sylph."

_What you have… done?_

"Well, that's a little cruel, making me do all the talking." He laughed, weakly. "I joke, but… I would much rather not speak of these things. I do not exactly wish to… elicit these memories, to stir them again. Sorry."

_Then, it seems like you have not gotten over it yet, after all._

Wait… That sentence seemed a little too harsh.

_I'm sorry! I wrote that without considering you._

"I… Sylph, it is not about the ears… My life has changed very much because of this loss, and I could almost certainly say it was for the better. I…"

_No! You don't have to say any more if you don't wish to._

She almost pressed the notebook in his face. He seemed startled for a second, but then he just began to laugh.

"No, you're right. I_ should_ apologize. They are _my_ affairs. And I assure you, I will not drag you into them any longer."

_I didn't mean it like that, Clove. Why do you always… distance yourself? I can tell perfectly well what your intentions have been._

He was always so distant, so close, yet so far. The way he spoke always made her wonder what he had gone through. It was always so formal, like everybody was simply an acquaintance and would not come close to his heart no matter how long he knew them, or how close they were… He was like an adult in his own ways and so, _so _hard to decipher.

"Why have I… distanced myself? I… do not like to be involved in the lives of others. And neither do I like to involve others. I might have crossed the line with you and I am sorry if I have done so. So please, do not try to dig up my past as well. I am not offended, but I simply…" It seemed he was a little reluctant to choke out the next line. "I do not know why I am allowing you into my life, Sylph."

He…

He was a stranger, and she had only known him for two days, today being the second. And yet there was a connection, a bond. It might have been a form of wishful thinking on her part, but she wanted to cling onto to it, to have hope. She had become weak, a… a parasite.

But she knew very well that Clove couldn't do this alone, either.

_You allow me into your life because you need somebody to rely on._

"I… What?"

_You will probably not admit it, but sometimes you wonder if you can really do it all by yourself. And when you found out that I had lost something as well, and that I was even remotely similar to you in a way, you forgot about the things you told yourself for that short moment. Am I wrong?_

He laughed again, strange, ironic laughter.

"So you _do_ have your moments too. You know, Sylph, you're right. I am far from that perfect person… and so are you. And I_ will_ admit my flaws. There is no shame in that. And you are absolutely right about me. You hit the nail exactly on the head. I slipped when I met you, in speech, in action. But honestly… What _were_ you expecting from me, Sylph?"

Had she really gone overboard this time?

"It is hard to even imagine myself being this person to be relied on. If there is one thing you're absolutely right about, it is that I am a human, as much so as you are. A fragile little thing who thinks he knows it all when, in reality, he knows so little about the things around him. I am as fragile as you, and I am broken like you are. And… I needed someone to rely on too." He had placed the notebook back on her lap.

_Me?_

"I don't know, Sylph."

_Then… I know I'm a stranger, but… I'll rely on you. And somehow… rely on me too._

"I… No…" Clove took a huge breath. Was he really agreeing? "Alright, Sylph…"

"If you really are to become my ears, then… Shall you allow me to become your eyes?"

Her… eyes? She held her pen above the notepad. So, he was really taking her seriously this time?

_I_

No, this question did not require such a long statement or an explanation. It… It required only a sincere answer from her. And this one time, she would place her bets with him.

_Alright, Clove._

"Then Sylph… Are you swearing to fill up these empty holes in my heart as I will do for yours?"

_Yes._

"Alright, then. You realize you are making an oath to a complete stranger who could be someone completely different from who you picture him to be?"

_YES. I know what I'm doing already!_

"Okay." He chuckled. "But if that is the case… do not hesitate to rely on me too."

_I won't._

"And… thank you, Sylph. For everything."

Sylph smiled and nodded. It was the best thing that she could do to reply to him right then. A warm smile… to light up another lost heart.

And the wordless moment would have stretched on forever, had Clove not spoken.

"Sylph… I must leave now. It is already getting late. Do you see how the sun is beginning to sink?"

_Not really… I can't see it. But here, have this back._

She handed him the notebook. He took a few steps forward, but suddenly paused. To her surprise, he gently tossed the book to her side.

Sylph heard a soft thud on the ground beside her.

"I think you should keep it with you from now on, Sylph." He said.

_Wait. Why?_

She flashed the notebook up.

"It belonged to one of the previous generations in my family. My… fathers', to be exact, passed down from generation to generation as is the usual occurrence. I… I don't need it any longer."

She had thought that it was just one of those old notebooks that could be bought from the market; the same kind as his, but from another family who didn't see the need to pass it down the generations any longer or needed money and had to sell it. They were very common around the marketplace.

_I'm sorry. It must be worth a lot to you…_

"It is… It's the only thing left for me to…" He trailed off. "Sorry… I think it's better off with you. After all, I… N-No, it's nothing."

And he began to leave, before Sylph could ask any more questions. The atmosphere had suddenly shifted and she could not do anything about it at all. She was so… _helpless_, and so_ pathetic_. She could do nothing.

But his footsteps suddenly stopped again and Sylph wondered if something had happened to him.

"And… thanks, Sylph. I won't forget our promise." He suddenly said. From his voice, Sylph could almost see his warm smile.

Maybe… Even if it _was_ helpless and she could not help him or get rid of his troubles… She could still bring a little warmth and joy to his heart, even if only by a simple smile. And so she smiled back.

And then his footsteps slowly disappeared behind the falling sun she could not see.

* * *

On that day, a bond had formed. Not one of friendship, or of love. It was a bond of _tragedies_.

A bond, like a red thread, that would slowly bind their destinies together.

They had not put in much consideration. It was by no means a solemn oath. It was an oath made by two children, one that meant far more than either could have begun to fathom.

And yet, as a promise had been sealed, Sylph had suddenly remembered the melody from a certain brown music box. It did not play… it faded away deep into the oceans of her heart.

Because from that day onwards, she would no longer need that melody…

That waltz of the tragic.

* * *

**Note: **

**To those who actually _are_ interested, I'll be trying to update constantly; once in a month, if all goes well. See how I have pulled that off for this chapter? With one day to spare? **

**(I would be smiling like a fool right now... so picture that.)**

**And... As everybody knows, it's always encouraging to see a review, to know that people have appreciated the effort you put into the story. So I thank all those who already have reviewed. Feedback is so greatly appreciated. And if you have actually made it here without skimming through the entire chapter, well, thanks for reading the story. **

**Okay, this chapter will probably be the last of its kind. Yes, I am indeed referring to the truckload of... "emo" at the beginning of the chapter, as most people would refer to it as, however much I hate that misused term. So if you disliked the depression, please do persevere on to the next chapter!**


	3. A Dream of Seven Skies

The early breeze brushed by the forest of green blades and gentle winds drew the curtains of cloud, welcoming the first day of a new month.

The usual party of two sat by the river, lost in dreams, but not two listened to birdsongs and not two watched the racing currents of the river and their light sparring. It was oddly quiet, but then again, silence was never absent when they sat by each other at the ascent of morning.

The last month was like a far-off vision; Surreal and non-existent. Nothing had changed. That was possibly the reason why it could have never existed and there would have been no difference at all.

Perhaps it was the barrier between the two individuals that kept them apart after bringing them together. It was their losses that drew them closer and it was their losses that kept their relationship at a standstill.

Sylph was no less hesitant to admit it, but in real life, losing something didn't mean you gained anything in return.

After all, Clove was perhaps a tad bit too complex for her reasoning. When she tried to learn more of him, something just made her withdraw each time. It was his attitude towards those remarks, but there was also something else about it… maybe it was the way he could push you away without ever having to say a word.

What were promises and oaths for if they didn't bring their keepers closer? There were no oath breakers among them. They relied on each other so much more, but at the same time, they never drew any much closer. At least, not as much as Sylph would have liked to have thought. No, in fact, as she got to know him that slight bit better, it felt like she hadn't learnt anything of true significance.

"Is something the matter there, Sylph?" The voice that was once so mesmerizing had become… well, plain.

She slowly brought out the notebook. There were hardly many pages filled with writing since the last month. Her fingers wrapped around the pen and brought out some lines.

_No, nothing._

"Alright." There was a crunch of the grass and then silence.

Suddenly, her hand began to shift once more. There was no way she would stop there and let him have his way.

_Why do we meet every day like this when all we do is sit and watch the clouds crawl by? No, I don't even get to see any of this. I just hear the water splashing softly. What is our purpose?_

"Our… purpose?" He said, with that same voice that never gave away his thoughts.

_I don't know. I must admit that initially, I might have been using you so I could use to feel less sorry about myself. Obviously, that was wrong and silly. But that's not the point. I'm questioning the whole point of the two of us even helping each other. We could just as well be living our lives separately. How would it affect us that much? Really, I just can't be too sure about anything. I just need some affirmation that we're headed the right way. Couldn't you at least give me that?_

The reply never returned. Silence took its shift and all but chirps and wind fell hushed again.

Sylph relaxed her muscles- she had suddenly realized how tense they were- and fell back into her sitting position. She took a deep breath, sighed then shut her eyes just to relax her eyelids. If it was going to be this stagnant silence, she might as well stop trying to push Clove to a corner.

She was unaware of how much time had slipped out of her hands, but after a while she had had more than enough of the quiet. She lifted herself back up to her feet and gingerly departed.

There came the knock of a door. The slow, untimed rapping of knuckles drilled into her daze and brought Sylph's awareness back to her surroundings. She could already guess who it was. She pulled out her notebook from below her pillow.

Before she had the chance to rise from her mattress, a strange melody of gentle footsteps were already rippling throughout the house. Somewhere on the level beneath hers, a door creaked open and the footsteps multiplied for a slight second. Then all came to a quick halt. Soft, familiar voices barely made it through the crack in her room door. As inaudible as they were, she could make out her name.

Then anxious feet pounded on the old stairway and a second door was opened.

"I, uh, followed you back here."

_Well, I'm listening._

She pressed her dry lips together.

"I… Sorry is not really the word for this, but… Sorry. You were right about everything. I cannot tell you what you want to hear, but it isn't your fault. It's mine. It's just that… There are things I had left behind. Things I wanted to forget.

"When I met you, you shattered the ice that held my days at a standstill. But I didn't want to- perhaps even couldn't- leave those days behind. You brought the hands of a certain clock forward. You might not yet be able to understand what I mean, but your appearance in my life has changed a lot of things… Maybe even things that I might not have wished to change."

_You're right, Clove. I understand no word of what you just spoke. That's because I know nothing about you except for the fact that you're deaf._

She wrote, and frowned at what could have been her fingers.

"Maybe it's better for you not to know." He hesitantly spoke.

_No, I want to know. I'm pretty tired of being kept in the dark. I think I have a right to know, since I've been the only one clinging on to this friendship. _

"That's unfair to say, now is it?" She could hear the drop of dismay in his voice.

_No, it isn't. Just tell me._

"I- I don't know…" He trailed off and brought his gaze back to the ground.

_You know, it's alright. I've been living independently since a child. I've never relied on others before. I really don't need to cling on to you either. Just tell me now, to my face, that it's better that we both left each other to our separate lives._

"No." It was a firm, decided voice. It was not only that, it was a command.

She remained shocked for a short second. This was the first time she had heard him say anything outside his neutral, undecipherable tone, and so strongly.

She took a second, but not more, to recover.

_Then what do you wish for?_

It had become rather irritating already. He was one of the worst kinds of people, so… selfish.

"I know I'm being ridiculous, but trust me. You really should not dig into my past any further. Can't we simply leave it as what it is; the past?"

_It's not about the past. It's about how much you trust me. I thought you would have known better than me. We don't share an ordinary relationship. You're the only person who might ever be able to comprehend the way I feel about the losses I've had and the same goes for you. I thought you would understand that. You tell me to rely on you! I think I deserve to know that I can trust you after all we've been through, no matter how short we've known each other. You know, you're selfish. That's all there is to it. You expect so much from others, but you have never ever gone a step out of your boundaries to help them._

She let the pen scratch out the last words and halted her indecisive hand. Then there was silence. It had returned to mock her, to show her how lonely she really was in the world. And it dragged on as usual, far too long than she had ever anticipated.

"Sorry."

The words on the tip of her tongue evaporated into the air. She honestly had no words left to deliver.

She felt two hands fall upon her shoulders for a brief moment. Then there were footsteps and she knew he was gone.

Her legs failed to carry her somehow and she found herself stumbling back onto her bed. Her head suddenly felt like a stone. She let it fall to her bed. If she had any conflicts raging on in her head, a wave of exhaustion swept over all of them. She was simply too tired to deal with the thoughts that would ravage her mind.

Simply too tired.

Morning filtered in through the windows. Light, fresh air breezed through and the rustling of the wind dancing through the leaves could be heard from distances away. Even she could feel the warm yellow pouring onto her skin, the sun ascending to take the place of the stars, radiating a warm orange about the new day.

However, this was not what she had awoken to. Aside from the regular darkness that she still had not become too accustomed to, she had far too much on her mind, most of which Clove conveniently occupied.

She found the strength to carry herself up slightly and found herself sitting against the wall. She wanted to return to sleep, so comforting and so far, yet the exhaustion that had overcome her had become alien once more.

If only she had never lost her sight in the first place…

Life would have gone on like it should have. Her life would have been perfect. A life that only had her, her beloved bow and the wind of hunt. All she had ever needed were those, right?

But she just had to go blind, lose the things she cared for the most. But then, when she had lost all hope, she found herself resting in the arms of an enigmatic boy, someone she could not even begin to comprehend. He offered a hand when she had fallen to the ground, and he too had let go when she was about to get back onto her feet.

It was truly a most horrid path her life had taken a turn to.

Clove, who had come into her life in as quickly as an hour. Clove, who had broken their bond in a mere minute. Clove, who-

"Someone's here for you, Sylph. Again."

Clove, again.

She slowly proceeded down the stairs, unsure of what to expect. About ten steps from the stairs laid the door. She stood, not knowing if he was already watching her.

A hand took hold of hers without warning and pulled her from her house.

She fumbled about for her notebook, but her other hand was restrained by his.

"Calm yourself down." He said softly.

She could only follow his instructions and let him guide her. She could not guess where they were headed.

The ground had changed slowly, from grass to plain soil. And then there was a short while where she could hear her feet thudding on wood. Her guess was that they had passed the bridge in that moment.

Did it mean they were headed to the wealthy side of the village?

Then again, she knew nothing about Clove. Maybe he was one of the people living on the other side. Maybe his family owned one of the farms. The more she pondered, the more she realized how little she really knew of him. Not once had he shown her his home either.

He came to a halt eventually.

"Here… This is where I live."

She took the time to whip out her notebook.

_Why are you showing this to me now?_

"I was planning to apologize. But now I know that even apologies are meaningless when they are just empty shells. I never wanted to do this, Sylph. I'll have you know right now. But here we are now, where I was brought up and where I was torn down. You have to understand, I might not seem to care, but I do. You will never understand the depth of the sacrifice I am making now because you will never fully be able to understand the pain that this has brought me. Still, you must know that this is hard for me. Could this perhaps give you- even if it is tiny- a glimpse of the fact that I care?"

She was relatively surprised, and her voice died off quickly.

She could think of nothing to write, nothing to say.

_You live on the rich side of the village… I never knew._

"You don't know a lot."

_I can't see a thing, you know. What's the point?_

"You're at the doorstep. I… It's not really about the house itself. It's just the right place to tell you about my past. All my joys, sorrows, anger, fear, it has all been soaked up in this house."

_I want to know._

"I… Before I met you, I never left this house except for food, water and work in the fields. I've looked after this house alone for four years."

_Where's your family?_

"I'm… an only child. My parents… They…" He paused and took a breath. "They were part of a volunteer team sent out of the border to find paths to lead us outside of the forest. Just like all the other times a team has been sent out, they never came back…

"I still remember the last time I ever saw them. They were smiling. They were so happy that it was foolish. I don't understand why they did it. They knew the risks. Were they really willing to leave their son behind in this world knowing this? I will never be able to answer this question, even when I ask myself this every moment."

His voice, once so strange, so soft, gentle, calming, mysterious... It was all falling apart right then. She was finally beginning to understand why he wanted to put this all behind him. It was not his words that made her see it, it was his voice. How it was so clouded with instability, sadness, bitterness. She was finally seeing how human he really was.

_Don't go on if you don't want to. I understand now, I really do._

"No, it's alright. We're already here. I... I never found out what happened to them. I didn't want to believe they were gone for good, so I waited… I left everything in the house the same way it was on that exact same day. And I just waited. Nothing changed, nothing ever would. I knew they weren't coming back, yet I still waited. I don't know why, but I thought that if I continued to wait, to push away all those thoughts, they would still be here. They would still be alive, still be smiling like they always did. It was desperation. I wanted so badly to tell myself that they were not gone, that everything was just the way it should be and that nothing was wrong. But everything was. And one day I decided to look for them."

That spelled it out for Sylph. She instantly knew what was coming next. He was like her.

"It was two years after they left when I went out of the border. I decided that it was time to look for them. It was impossible for me lead my life alone any longer, to continue to dream and pretend nothing had ever happened. I just walked out of the border. I never knew what hit me. I was just walking slowly when something slashed my back. As I turned to try and catch a glimpse of what had hit me, something slashed at my neck and knocked me right off my feet. All I could think of then was to run. I never stood a chance. So I ran as fast as I could. I ran and ran until I caught sight of the border and then I just ran faster.

"I don't know how many times I tripped and nearly got bitten. I know my leg got bitten once or twice. All I remember after that is running, throwing a stone and more running. The pain must have numbed my neck completely, or I must have been too focused on running. I don't remember any pain until much later. I must have gotten to the gate somehow, because I was being treated after I awoke. Those claws not only scarred me, they dragged along, unwilling to let go, and they stole along with it a part of me. I lost most of my hearing right then. It's here now, this scar. It runs along the back of my neck, from one ear to the other. I couldn't understand how my life had spiralled right down to the very bottom in a few years. I guess I stopped working for a short while and just locked myself up at home. I started working again after I ran out of money, but in the end nothing ever changed in my life. I still stayed on here and did nothing. What was left of my hearing deteriorated slowly, day by day after then, until even that gave up on me. I didn't know what to do with my life any longer, only to sit here and dream. I went to the river. I guess staring at the streams made my mind wonder and not focus on the terrible things that happened in my life. And I went there every day, just to lose myself in the currents."

"But then I met you. I didn't want my life to change, but it did. You woke me up. I could no longer see things the way I used to any longer. There was someone else suffering like I did. But now I realize that it's not just that. It's you. It was really you that woke me up, not your situation. As I got to know you, deep inside, I wanted to break free from the timeless days. I wanted to follow you out, to know what life had in store. But I didn't want to at the same time. I was so confused..." He trailed off for a short moment. "I guess I messed it all up, didn't I?"

_I should have realized earlier too. I shouldn't have been so quick to assume…_

"No, I never told you anything. But I don't know if I can let go."

_You should. It's pointless if you keep dreaming of things going back to the way they were before. Just look at me… _

"You can still make life better even if you've lost it. Nobody said that an archer couldn't be blind, did they?"

_That's because you don't know anything about it._

"No, I only know that nobody has done it so far. You could always be the first person to do so."

_You can't be an archer without sight…_

Clove sighed.

"Come in." He tugged her arm gently and stepped inside the house. "We've stood outside long enough."

Sylph could tell it was very spacious because she hardly bumped into anything while walking about the house.

_You keep it really tidy?_

He chuckled. "I suppose so. It's the only thing left of my parents. I can't bear to see it crumble away or be reduced to a sorry state. I don't know how long I will have to look after it, but I will."

It was probably really large, since his house was on this side of the border. They were moving across a light wooden floor, and then up some stairs.

"Careful."

They turned about a few times up the stairway and then stopped at the second floor before moving straight into another room.

"Okay, here. There's a seat over here, so make yourself comfortable."

She did as told and slumped back onto a chair.

_I can't see anything. _

"I can't really do much about that. Well, it's always quiet for me here. It's never always a good thing, but not having to hear anything is also very calming, very peaceful. It's only when I begin to think about things, then the quiet becomes painful. It becomes somewhere I can never escape from, where my thoughts can always haunt me."

_Doesn't it ever get lonely here?_

He didn't answer immediately. After a short pause he only said, "Yes. It does."

_Let's go._

"What?"

_Let's go somewhere else. _

"Where?"

_Somewhere else. You need to take a walk outside, not just lock yourself up in the house. You go to the river for an hour or two each morning, then work in the fields for another two hours or so before spending the rest of the day in your house. Maybe I need to show you the world outside of your home before you realize that you need to let go._

"I don't know…"

It was probably better if she showed him instead of trying to convince him.

_I can't guide you there, but I'm telling you, you need to go out there and see the world with your own two eyes._

He stopped. Footsteps or anything else just stopped.

_Did I say something wrong?_

"N-No. You just reminded me of something…" He said. "Alright, let's go out."

The morning had just given rise to the early mid-day and the Sylph felt the sun's heat fall onto her back, the slightest warmth slipping in through the cracks in a sea of leaves. The day was still full of the early morning's light breeze and it swirled around lightly, waiting to fall aside to the rising sun. It had been some time since she went out to someplace other than the river, and the open land and grass were bringing back some lost days, those of times before she fell into the darkness.

The lonely whispers of grass crunching on the ground slowly got lost as wisps of voices began to cloud the air and the slight breeze was washed away by the tides of heat and noise.

The flapping of tent entrances in the winds could be picked up by Sylph's ears from a mile away. It was strange, but her hearing had heightened at an alarming rate over the last month, and without her noticing either. The market was not as she remembered.

She remembered people and the endless green fields, scattered with tents of white and red. Now what she 'saw' was an ocean of voices and white cloth dancing in the wind.

"Why are we at the market?"

_It's been so long since I've been here. Let's just take a walk around. If you have grain we can buy some things at the stalls too._

"Alright…" He took a hold of her wrist and they followed through the seemingly narrow pathway of people.

Sylph couldn't help but feel dependant once again. She had been living virtually off herself without the help of any others for almost her entire life, and here she had to be guided through the market like a little child…

Why couldn't she have lost something other than her sight, the thing she had placed her entire life and dreams on?

"Sylph, don't space out. You're the one who asked me here." He laughed.

_Oh, sorry. Where are we now?_

"We're in one of the stores… Hm? Try this on." He pressed something onto her wrist.

"What's that?" Her mouth instinctively opened, before she remembered that he couldn't hear her.

"A bangle. It fits you rather well, I'd say."

"You can hear me?" She exclaimed, before pressing her lips together after realizing she was in a store. The vivid image of a shopkeeper's glare now hung like a web in her head.

"Not really. It's a matter of reading your lips and your expressions. I'm rarely ever accurate unless it's a short sentence…"

"Wait, why are you buying a bangle?"

"Now… that was unclear. If I'm correct, you're asking about the bangle, in which case I would answer by saying that you brought me to a market, so you should have expected shopping."

"You shouldn't be the one getting excited…"

"The… notebook, Sylph. I gave it to you for a reason."

_Sorry. Writing can be quite tiresome sometimes._

"Alright, well take your new bangle." He laughed.

_You actually bought it…_

"If you don't want it I'll go ahead and give this back to the shopkeeper."

She swiped out her hand and took a hold if his.

_No, I'll keep it. Thanks…_

"Want to head over to the next store?"

_I know I brought you here and all, but I'm starting to think maybe it wasn't the right place…_

"That was quick. Oh well, I never thought you were someone who'd like shopping, anyway. It's not like there's actually anywhere else to go here, though... But maybe you'll listen to my suggestion, then. I'll bring you somewhere I used to go when I was a young child. It's one of my favourite spots to visit."

When Sylph had lost her sight, she had somehow become much more aware of the time. Night and day sang different songs and her ears took it all in. The hour of blue was slowly slipping into place, the shadow of the world slowly being cast.

There was something about not having sight that made her world so much more different. The darkness she had once been taken over by had slowly begun to fade. She had lost sight, but it released the restriction of how she saw the world. The skies became vaster, the clouds whiter. She saw things the way she wanted to see it now, with a touch of her own self reflected through it.

But something about the place Clove had brought her to felt strange. It was almost as if she knew the place.

"Well, what do you think of this place?" Clove once again brought her back from the pits of her mind, as was the usual case.

_It's strangely familiar…_

"It would be odd if it wasn't. Breathe in the air, listen to the sounds of everything around you."

Strangely enough, her mind began painting a picture, one of blue and green.

"This is…" She mumbled softly.

"We're at the river." He laughed.

It took a few slow seconds before it dawned upon her.

_I've been tricked…_

"I used to come here as a child all the time… My father, in particular, brought me here very often." His voice began to wander, into a lost memory far-off. "Something you said just now, about experiencing the world with my own eyes. My father used to tell me about the world beyond this one. Beyond the border, the forests. It was his dream- which soon became mine too- to go out beyond this land, to see the rest of the world. He had this map of a large continent, Ossyria. It's the continent we're standing on. And on it, seven distinct places marked. Seven skies, he used to say."

_A dream of seven skies…_

"When did I forget it? Maybe when they left… Learning of their departure was like learning that they were gone because they tried to pursue their dreams. I must have lost my faith in such ideas then."

_Renew it, then. I can never live my dream any longer, but that doesn't mean you can't._

"You can too. I won't say I know about the archery you practice, but I can say that it is possible given the will."

_And you dare not say the same for yourself?_

"It's a lost dream. Something that belonged and belongs only to an age far off, a time only preserved in my memories." He paused. "Nothing more than that, but nothing less either."

_I'm not asking you to leave the village, just that you should never give up on your dreams. I know it's impossible for me too, but I haven't given up on my dreams yet. You're going to be my eyes, aren't you? That's more than enough for an archer._

However weakly she smiled, it carried itself across to Clove and he received it.

He laughed again, that laugh she had gotten so used to. At times they covered up his real feelings, at other times they were nothing more than meaningless chuckles. Even now, Sylph didn't even know which of them it was.

"You say the things I least expect to hear, Sylph. Oh, how will you help _me_, then? Perhaps you shall agree to venture outside the border and Ossyria with me?"

_Are you serious? _

She halted her hand. Then, as quickly as possible, she wrote.

_I don't know…_

"I might have been." He lowered his voice. "Either way, I expected that answer from you. But don't worry about it. You were never obliged to play along with me."

"Play along, huh?" She mumbled silently. "I've never thought that way…"

Everything had seemed to go deathly silent after that. Silence, that finally prevailed over everything. It had returned, yet again. But even with the silence that hung about a sky of night, it was more than just silent. It was a silence that somehow hushed everything else, that enveloped and embraced more than just her hearing in a dark shade.

Still, beyond the dark fog in her mind, she could see a glimpse of the sky. Another world that barely scraped upon the surface of this, with candles that lined the faded black strip and lit up its reflection with a gentle, blinding glow and brought a light radiance that filled the dark air with a sweeping warmth against the cold metal lying on her wrist. It sparkled in the darkness, glistened in the night, its shape and form never known to her.

But as it brought her thoughts to Clove, she realized something.

They were looking at two separate skies.


End file.
